This meta-analysis of 79 studies evaluates the effectiveness of high variability phonetic training (HVPT) for the development of second language (L2) speech perception and explores learner-related and methodological variables that influence training effects. The overall medium-to-large effects of HVPT on L2 speech perception support the effectiveness of HVPT, for both pretest-posttest comparison (g = 0.92, k = 96) and treatment-control comparison (g = 0.67, k = 32), confirm long-term retention of perception gains, and, to some extent, indicate generalization of learning to novel stimuli. Training effects are influenced by several key variables (length of L2 learning, response labels, type of training task, type of testing task, total training time, target phones, and number of talkers). The findings provide compelling evidence to support the efficacy of HVPT for L2 perceptual learning and suggest circumstances under which training effects are optimized.

This entry provides an overview of high variability phonetic training (HVPT), a computer‐based second language (L2) pronunciation training technique with origins in phonetics laboratories. It begins by defining what constitutes canonical HVPT and provides a brief theoretical rationale for this approach. It then provides a concise but comprehensive summary of empirical evidence supporting HVPT's efficacy. It also discusses ways in which traditional HVPT has been modified to make it better. The section concludes by pointing to barriers to HVPT's wider adoption, despite the clear benefits it provides to L2 learners.

There has been much debate in assessment research about the inclusion of Global English accents in high-stakes listening tests. This study explored test-takers' attitudes toward the inclusion of different English accents in the Duolingo English Test (DET) 2021 test version and their associations with listening test scores. One hundred sixty English learners from four language backgrounds (Chinese, Korean, Hindi, and Latin American Spanish) completed yes/no vocabulary and dictation tasks that simulated the listening sections of the DET. The tasks included speech produced by English speakers of the same language background as the listeners, as well as American and British English. Learners completed a survey that elicited their attitudes toward non-standard English accents in proficiency tests. Exploratory factor analysis of survey responses revealed two contrasting trends in learners' attitudes. Constructed responses suggested that while listeners generally preferred prestigious English models (e.g. American English or British English), they also expressed a need for incorporating other accent varieties. The relationships between listeners' attitudes and their performance on the test were minimal (r < .26). The findings hint at a deeper understanding of test takers' needs regarding accent varieties in listening tests. The study offers implications for the development of high-stakes English listening tests in global contexts.

ABSTRAITNous avons examine longitudinalement le developpement en contexte naturel de la prononciation en anglais L2 chez deux groupes de locuteurs: mandarin (LMA) et langues slaves (LSL). Au depart, les 50 participants ont realise les taches de production, qui leur ont ete passees huit fois de plus, sur une periode de dix ans. Nous rapportons ici les jugements sur l'accentuation, la comprehensibilite et la fluidite des locuteurs restant a la 10e annee, apres attrition au sein des deux groupes (LMA n = 6; LSL n = 12). Les donnees collectees aux annees sept et 10 ont revele que lesLSL ont ameliore leur intelligibilite et leur fluidite a chaque point de comparaison, tandis que les LMA presentaient une variabilite: une amelioration de la comprehensibilite de la 7e a la 10e annee, apres une deterioration lors de points de comparaisons precedents. Les LSL ont demontre une amelioration de l'accent a plusieurs reprises, tandis que les LMA n'en ont montre aucune dans le temps. Les donnees ont ete examinees pour determiner des differences individuelles. Les reponses aux entretiens et une enquete sur l'utilisation de la langue ont ete comparees aux trajectoires des participants. Une amelioration constante a ete observee de la 7(e) a la 10(e) annee chez certains locuteurs, mais la majorite d'entre eux a plafonne ou encore regresse. Nous avons egalement sollicite l'avis des locuteurs sur leurs progres. Ces resultats sont interpretes dans le cadre de & DLANGBRAC; la volonte de communiquer & drangbrac;. Des suggestions sont offertes pour la recherche et les interventions pedagogiques. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARYThis longitudinal study involved collecting data from two groups of second language speakers (Mandarin and Slavic language speakers) over 10 years. We recorded picture narratives from the 2-month, 1-year, 2-year, 7-year, and 10-year points. Audio samples of 20-25 s were randomized and played to 20 listeners who rated them on three dimensions using 9-point scales: fluency (1 = extremely fluent; 9 = extremely dysfluent); comprehensibility (1 = easy to understand; 9 = extremely difficult to understand); and accentedness (1 = no accent; 9 = extremely strong accent). Analyses indicated that the Slavic language speakers improved in comprehensibility and fluency at each comparison point, while the Mandarin speakers' results were variable: there was improvement in comprehensibility from Year 7 to Year 10, but only after worsening at earlier points. The Slavic language group showed improvement in accentedness at several times, whereas the Mandarin group showed no improvement in accentedness at any point. We then considered individual trajectories, in the light of the language contexts in which each participant was immersed. There was tremendous variability in learner progress, but interestingly, the person who had the best ratings at the outset was judged the best after 10 years. It is clear that each person's individual circumstances had an effect on their productions in English. The trajectories also suggested that some individuals made consistent progress in comprehensibility and fluency from Year 7 to Year 10, demonstrating that naturalistic language learning, at least for these dimensions, can continue for a long time, depending on the individual's personal circumstances. The richer the interaction opportunities, the better. We examined the naturalistic pronunciation development of two groups of L2 speakers over 10 years. Initially, 50 beginner ESL students participated in production tasks; despite attrition, the tasks were administered eight more times. Here we report listener judgements of accentedness, comprehensibility and fluency for the remaining six Mandarin and 12 Slavic language speakers at Year 10. Analyses of listener judgments of accentedness, comprehensibility, and fluency of utterances recorded at the 2-month, 1-year, 2-year, 7-year and 10-year points revealed that the Slavic language speakers improved in comprehensibility and fluency at each comparison point, while the Mandarin speakers' results were variable; there was improvement in comprehensibility from Year 7 to Year 10, but only after worsening at earlier points. The Slavic language group showed improvement in accentedness several times, whereas the Mandarin group showed no improvement in accentedness at any point. The data were examined for individual differences in learning trajectories. Interview responses and a survey of language use were compared to participants' trajectories. Some speakers showed steady improvement from Year 7 to Year 10, but the majority plateaued or regressed. We also elicited speakers' views of their progress. The results are interpreted through Complexity Theory and the Willingness to Communicate framework. Suggestions are made for research and teaching interventions.

This study aimed to answer an ongoing validity question related to the use of nonstandard English accents in international tests of English proficiency and associated issues of test fairness. More specifically, we examined (1) the extent to which different or shared English accents had an impact on listeners' performances on the Duolingo listening tests and (2) the extent to which different English accents affected listeners' performances on two different task types. Speakers from four interlanguage English accent varieties (Chinese, Spanish, Indian English [Hindi], and Korean) produced speech samples for "yes/no" vocabulary and dictation Duolingo listening tasks. Listeners who spoke with these same four English accents were then recruited to take the Duolingo listening test items. Results indicated that there is a shared first language (L1) benefit effect overall, with comparable test scores between shared-L1 and inner-circle L1 accents, and no significant differences in listeners' listening performance scores across highly intelligible accent varieties. No task type effect was found. The findings provide guidance to better understand fairness, equality, and practicality of designing and administering high-stakes English tests targeting a diversity of accents.

This meta-analysis of 31 studies aimed to determine the effectiveness of perception-based high variability phonetic training (HVPT) for second language (L2) production learning and to identify learner-related and methodological variables that influence production gains. Based on independent effect sizes for 43 within-participant and 17 between-participant designs, small-to-medium effects of post-training improvement were found. The average production gains for trained items and untrained items were 10.50% and 4.50%, respectively. Neither strong support for long-term retention of production learning nor generalization to untrained stimuli was observed, however. Moderator analyses showed that post-training production gains were influenced by a number of factors related to learner profiles (age and learning context), training features (provision of phonetic information, training duration, and training time per session), and features of production tests (elicitation tasks, prompt modality, and outcome measures). The relationship between perception and production gains was negligible at the participant level, but was significant and moderate at the level of individual studies for post-training and retention data. These findings provide partial support for a perception-production link. This study makes several recommendations for future studies investigating the effects of HVPT on L2 speech production learning.

The 2022 PSLLT conference was full of firsts. Most importantly, it was the first in-person conference since the beginning of the pandemic. Ongoing travel restrictions impacted registration, and final numbers remained in flux until the day before the conference as some delegates tested positive for COVID at the last minute, or experienced other restrictions related to the pandemic. Remarkably, no transmission was reported during the conference. Although fewer people attended than in recent years, those who were there really valued the opportunity to see their colleagues and friends in person after a cancelled conference in 2020 and a virtual conference in 2021. The theme of the conference was the same theme proposed for the cancelled 2020 conference: Learning and Teaching Pronunciation in Diverse Contexts.

This paper reports on the role of technology in state-of-the-art pronunciation research and instruction, and makes concrete suggestions for future developments. The point of departure for this contribution is that the goal of second language (L2) pronunciation research and teaching should be enhanced comprehensibility and intelligibility as opposed to native-likeness. Three main areas are covered here. We begin with a presentation of advanced uses of pronunciation technology in research with a special focus on the expertise required to carry out even small-scale investigations. Next, we discuss the nature of data in pronunciation research, pointing to ways in which future work can build on advances in corpus research and crowdsourcing. Finally, we consider how these insights pave the way for researchers and developers working to create researchinformed, computer-assisted pronunciation teaching resources. We conclude with predictions for future developments.

Abstract This study investigates how Mandarin and Slavic language speakers’ comprehensibility, accentedness, and fluency ratings, as assigned by experienced teacher-raters and novice raters, align with discrete linguistic measures, and raters’ accounts of influences on their scoring. In addition to examining mean ratings in relation to rater experience and speaker first language background, we correlated ratings with segmental, prosodic, and temporal measures. Introspective reports were segmented, coded, enumerated, and submitted to loglinear analysis to elucidate influences on ratings. Results showed that ratings were strongly correlated with prosodic goodness and moderately correlated with segmental errors, implying the importance of both segmentals and prosody in L2 speech ratings. Experienced teacherraters provided lengthier reports than novice raters, producing more comments for all coded categories where an error was identified except for pausing (a disfluency marker). This may be because novice raters observed little else about the speech or struggled to pinpoint or articulate other features.

It is often reported that native speakers negatively evaluate personality characteristics of second language (L2) speakers on the basis of their accent. Researchers have frequently concluded that such judgements result from implicit bias on the part of listeners, for whom an L2 accent triggers stereotypes about the ethnic or racial origin of the speaker. Within this research paradigm, little attention has been paid to quantifiable features of the speech signal that may also contribute to negative evaluations of accented speakers, independent of their ethnic or racial origins. A more detailed understanding of listener reactions to foreign accented speech, and the underlying linguistic variables that influence those reactions, can reveal complementary contributions of speakers and listeners to personal interactions. In this chapter, we report results from an empirical study in which 24 native-speaking undergraduate students rated monologic speech samples, produced by 36 L2 English speakers (18 Mandarin, 18 Slavic), for perceived fluency, comprehensibility, friendliness, intelligence, and listeners’ comfort interacting with each speaker. Relationships between listener ratings, and quantitative speech measures were examined across speakers, and as a function of speakers’ language background and speaking task. Results indicate that quantifiable features of L2 speech and task type influence reactions to foreign-accented speech.

While the relationship between first language (L1) speech perception and production is well described in the literature, relatively little research has investigated the relationship between second language (L2) speech perception and production. This chapter provides an overview of what we know about this complex topic. It considers ways in which L2 speech perception and production follow a similar path to that observed in L1 acquisition, and ways in which it is fundamentally different. The chapter details the most common behavioural methods for collecting L2 perception and production data, along with quantitative acoustic measures of speech production. It emphasizes how choices in research design may explain contradictory findings, especially when incommensurate measures are used to compare speech perception with speech production. The chapter discusses evidence for a relationship between L2 speech perception and production from studies that have specifically examined the question, both at fixed points in time, and in the context of instructional interventions. In addition to offering suggestions for classroom application, the chapter describes how future research might approach the question to expand our understanding of this topic, which is fundamental to higher order language learning.

Abstract This chapter discusses research methods in the domain of instructed second language (L2) pronunciation. After explaining what pronunciation is and why it is important, the chapter provides an overview of the current consensus surrounding instructed L2 pronunciation research, including major linguistic targets, speech modalities, and instructional techniques in both classroom- and laboratory-based studies, in addition to their effects on the acquisition of L2 pronunciation. It then introduces a range of speech elicitation instruments used in instructed L2 pronunciation research, followed by a discussion of approaches to L2 speech data analysis. The chapter also proposes future directions in instructed L2 pronunciation research and multiple venues in which L2 pronunciation researchers can disseminate their findings, while urging researcher-practitioner collaboration for evidence-based L2 pronunciation teaching. Finally, it concludes by shedding light on the importance of methodological rigor and offering troubleshooting strategies in instructed L2 pronunciation research.

A number of studies have investigated the degree to which language instructors are prepared to offer pronunciation instruction (PI), but little research has addressed the readiness of another group of professionals, speech-language pathologists (SLPs), who are increasingly offering pronunciation instruction under the term foreign accent modification (FAM). To address this gap, the study reported here investigates the extent to which SLPs who offer PI are equipped to do so. We surveyed 54 SLPs who offer PI in North America, focusing on their beliefs, and the extent to which they are able to critically evaluate a range of statements and materials obtained from pronunciation resources. Results indicated that while survey respondents may have transferrable knowledge with respect to the articulation of speech sounds, many of their beliefs and practices are not grounded in a comprehensive understanding of the field. We recommend that SLPs offering PI should first receive specialized training in this area.

This article reviews Intelligibility, oral communication, and the teaching of pronunciation 9781108404013$34.99

This study examines the effect of incorporating a variety of international English accents into a simulated TOEFL listening comprehension test in growing recognition of internationalization of language teaching and learning in the field of TESOL. Although some high-stakes English proficiency exams have begun incorporating speech samples produced by speakers from a range of inner circle English-speaking backgrounds (e.g., Britain, the United States, Australia), the inclusion of samples produced by speakers of outer and expanding circle English varieties (e.g., India, Nigeria, Mexico, South Korea) has been largely avoided. For this study the researchers recruited speakers from six distinct English varieties to produce speech samples for a mock TOEFL iBT listening exam. Listeners who spoke with the same six international English accents were then recruited to take the resulting tests. Results indicate that when accented English is highly comprehensible, listening test scores for stimuli based on high-proficiency speakers of outer and expanding circle varieties of English are not significantly lower than they are in response to stimuli based on inner circle varieties of English. With respect to a shared first language effect on test scores when test materials are spoken in the test taker's own accent, results are complex but inconclusive.

In English as a Foreign Language (EFL) situations, it is important for educators to improve learners’ sound recognition skill due to the variation of English found in the world. Furthermore, perceptual skill is a foundation leading to intelligibility in production. This study examined the effects of using High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) in computer assisted pronunciation training on the recognition and production of English phonemes, which are challenging for Japanese learners of English. Between pre-, mid-, and post-tests, the learners completed training sessions three times a week in two sound environments. The results demonstrated improvement in recognition skill with larger effects immediately after training. For production skill, however, the effects were not large, with a mixed outcome against the improvement in perception. Further research is suggested under a condition in which articulation practice immediately follows identification of individual training items.

AbstractThis article is a critical research synthesis of 32 studies that used the High Variability Phonetic Training (HVPT) technique to teach learners to better perceive and produce L2 sounds. Taken together, the studies surveyed provide compelling evidence that HVPT is a very effective pronunciation training tool, and that resulting improvement is long-lasting. The analysis of this research also helps to explain why very few teachers have heard of this empirically-driven approach to pronunciation instruction: HVPT studies are largely published in technically oriented journals; few are accessible to language teachers. A variety of obstacles to the widespread use of HVPT are discussed, and some possible solutions are provided.